Every You Every Me
by Direa
Summary: “This can’t happen again.” She said, not for the first time. sasusaku? kakasaku?
1. In the shape of things to come

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, made no money.

Set about 8-10 years in the future. Hope its good.

* * *

There were three kunai coming for her, she knew. 

She knew it was three because she had personally relieved him of all his others over the last 40 minutes. Currently, they were all buried in the ground beneath them, but he didn't know that.

A noise whizzed by her temple, too close. She had barely gotten out of the way. Her labored breathing was deafening to her own ears, her chest heaved painfully from exertion. Another kunai caught her in the her calf, piercing, sinking deeply into the toned muscle there, bringing her to her knees, she cried out.

Without delay Sakura jutsued herself the hell out of there. Trying to stifle the moan of pain, she pulled the kunai out, wiping it sloppily on her shirt. Now he had 2. And she had all the rest.

Her clone was still in the open clearing, doubled over in pain on hands and knees, coated in blood, desperately trying to stand up. She did, only to be knocked back down flat on her back, the 2 remaining kunai pinning her to the ground by the cloth at her shoulders.

"You're done, Sakura." The blonde stood over her, hands on hips, his own breathing shallow.

The clone struggled weakly, making a show of trying to get up. Sakura's own hands were already flying, fingers bending and folding into the proper seals. And suddenly, the ground beneath Naruto's feet was shaking, dirt flying everywhere. Kunai exploded from the ground, blocking out the light as they whipped across the clearing, stringing chakra threads into an impenetrable web that knocked him to the ground and held him securely in place. It was too tight for him to form a seal, much less shimmy out of.

Sakura appeared above him, one kunai at her belt, the other twirling on a finger. Blood was flowing freely from her leg, as well as many other parts of her bruised body. Her hair was a tangled mess, dirt covering most of her body.

She had never felt more beautiful.

"You were saying?" She asked, the smile she couldn't keep back breaking open a cut on her lip. Her own blood had never tasted so sweet before.

Sasuke clapped once, twice, three times. He approached from his perch on the sideline.

"Good." He said blandly. It was the highest of praise from him.

Sakura was already retracting the threads.

Naruto sat up, smiling wryly. "Lucky shot." He muttered, reaching up for a boost.

Sakura pulled him up easily, last vestiges of adrenaline making her feel light and powerful. He was right, she had gotten lucky. But a few years ago she would never had gotten that far, actually taking him down like that. She'd changed.

She was someone now. Someone they trained with again, and not because they had to. Someone they respected.

"You owe me dinner, Naruto." She reminded Naruto as he collected the kunai. That was the condition of the win.

Naruto smirked, looking her up and down. "You wanna change first? They wont let you in looking like that."

Years ago that would have stung, especially as it was said in front of Sasuke. The dark haired prodigy was standing by silently, patiently waiting for them to collect themselves, impeccable as always. But that was years ago.

Sakura looked up at Naruto as she sealed the wound on her leg with one glowing hand. He was just as filthy as she was, maybe even more. Clumps of dirt and grass were lodged in his clothes and hair.

"We match." She smiled.

* * *

Sakura drained the contents of the cup, placing it on the table with a soft thud. She eyed the handsome Uchiha across the bar contemplatively. A young, pretty girl was in the chair next to him, her whole upper body draped across his. Sasuke seemed to be ignoring her completely, in deep conversation with another shinobi. The only sign that he acknowledged her existence was Sasuke's arm draped loosely around the back of her chair, his fingers just barely on her shoulder. The girl looked like she was in love. 

Naruto inhaled his own drink with a soft hiss, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I know what you're thinking." He said quietly.

"Oh yeah?" Sakura turned her gaze back to him, raising an amused eyebrow.

"And I'm saying it ain't gonna happen." Naruto replied, voice strangely serious.

"Don't be such a pessimist, Naruto. It could. Have some faith in him." She chided, but really, she was starting to think he was right.

"Yeah, you've said that before."

"I know." She sighed, her eyes finding Sasuke again. "But this one's lasted longer than the other ones."

"Its just a matter of time." Naruto shook his head sadly, pouring them each another cup.

"Here's to hoping." Sakura toasted. Naruto mirrored her action, smiled ruefully and emptied the cup.

A few minutes later Sakura excused herself to the bathroom, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts. She met Sasuke's eyes briefly when he looked up at her as she was walking past, but her gaze didn't linger. She didn't notice if his did or not.

The second she stepped into the single bathroom, a hard, unyielding body pressed against her forcefully from behind, pushing her further into the room and clicking the door shut behind them. Sakura yelped out surprise. A strong arm was wound tight around her waist, holding her against what was very obviously a large male body. His other arm was across her chest, keeping her arms in place.

Sakura struggled in his hold, but all that did was force a soft, low groan from him. She gasped as the evidence of his arousal came in contact with the juncture of her legs, pressing insistently.

He pushed her forward into the sink, bending her over it. His whole body was flush with hers, chest to back, legs to thighs, arms secured around her. His warmth encompassed her. Hips ground against her intimately. Sakura found it hard to breathe.

"I want you." A familiar, low voice rasped into her ear. An all too familiar anticipation surged through her veins and curled low in her stomach.

"You can't..." She protested weakly, but her words broke off on a sob. The hand that had been around her waist grabbed her womanhood, sending shocks of excitement and pleasure through her body. Sakura's knees buckled.

He let go of her arms to grab a breast through the fabric of her shirt, squeezing. Sakura's hands grabbed on the sink for support, her head falling forward in pleasure. There was a hot mouth and hot, sake-flavored breath on her neck. She leaned back against him.

His hand found its way to the waistband of her shorts, slipping inside, stretching the fabric as he found what he was looking for. Sakura moaned raggedly as a finger slid across her folds teasingly. She gasped when it slid suddenly, deeply inside.

He felt her tight, moist heat pulsing around his finger, and involuntarily thrust his hips against her again. The hand on her chest squeezed tightly.

"Stop... ughh." His skillful fingers hadn't remained stationary. Sakura pushed her hips against his hand instinctively. Her body betrayed her words.

"Why?" His hot breath tickled her ear. Teeth nipped gently at the soft flesh of her neck.

"Naruto, he's..." She tried to answer, but moaned helplessly when his thumb found_ that_ spot.

"I don't care." He growled, pressing his hand harder against her.

Sakura whimpered, legs quivering beneath her. But he must have cared, because now there was a sense of urgency to his actions. The hand at her chest moved to her shorts, pulling them down her hips. Another was pulling her hips back, spreading her legs as far as her shorts would allow.

She heard him fumble with his own pants and took the opportunity to brace herself on the edge of the sink.

And then he was there, behind her, around her, inside her, everywhere. Even as prepared as she had been for it, Sakura couldn't contain the moan of raw, animalistic pleasure that ripped from her throat. Her hips bucked against him restlessly as his hands held her painfully tight to keep her still.

He started moving then, hard, fast, pushing deeper and deeper inside. Sakura arched her back to get him closer, to make him hit the spot she needed him to. He didn't disappoint. He slammed into her repeatedly, bringing a hand to cover her mouth and muffle her increasingly loud cries. She bit him when she came and her muscles clenched around him almost painfully. He saw stars behind his eyes as he released inside her.

He collapsed on top of her, still inside of her, twitching with pleasurable aftershocks. Taking a shaky breath, he pulled away, adjusting his clothing. He tried to regain some of his composure.

Sakura was standing up as well, shorts securely around her waist. She was leaning on the sink, facing him but he knew she couldn't see much with the limited light of the small, lone window in the room.

Her hands were gripping the porcelain behind her, breathing still shallow.

"This can't happen again." She said, not for the first time.

"I know." He agreed quietly, running a hand through his wild hair, already turning to leave. He flicked on the light as he exited the room, closing the door behind himself.

The bright light hurt Sakura's eyes. She fixed herself up quickly. The cold water on her face did nothing to calm her heated body.

As she walked back to Naruto's table with still shaky legs, she didn't notice if Sasuke was watching her or not. She wouldn't have cared either way.

Naruto was exactly as she'd left him. He briefly glanced up at her as she dropped into her seat, swiftly draining a cup that had stood waiting for her. This way she could explain her flush with the alcohol.

"That took a while." He commented.

"Girl stuff." Sakura lied informatively, in a tone indicating a subject he would _never_ pursue.

"Ah." Naruto turned back to his Sasuke-watching. "He notices you, you know."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, sitting just where she'd left him as well. "He notices everything. That's not the problem here, and you know that."

"Yeah, I know." He said wearily, as if the topic drained him. "You can try again though."

"I already tried, Naruto. I'm done." She said with resignation.

Naruto sighed, changing the topic."Hinata wants you to come by and see the baby."

"Is something wrong?" She asked quickly, searching his face. He didn't seem distressed.

"No, just a little temperature. But you know how she worries." He was smiling softly, proudly as he said that, and Sakura felt just a little better.

She found it funny that out of the three of them, Naruto was the one that had been domesticated first. After all, Sakura was the one that had planned out her wedding by the time she was 12. And Sasuke did have that clan that needed repopulating. Naruto was supposed to be the free spirit.

Naruto and Hinata had been dating maybe 4 months when the hysterical girl had informed him she was carrying his child. Sakura had never seen anyone happier than Naruto had been that day. He had made Hinata marry him that very afternoon.

"I'll come by tomorrow morning, before my shift." She told him.

"Good. Don't eat breakfast, Hinata will probably want to feed you." He warned. Hinata had a tendency to mother everyone lately.

They talked for a while longer, neither in much of a hurry to be anywhere. It had been a while since they'd had some time to just hang out. Neither of them was surprised when Sasuke left the bar, the girl leading him gently but insistently by the hand.

Sakura smiled wistfully at their backs, but it disappeared as soon as Naruto opened his mouth again.

"You might be it, you know. You can try." His voice was soft, quiet, serious again.

"I know. But I won't." Sakura finished the last of her sake, leaning forward to kiss Naruto on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She left without a backward glance.

* * *

He was there waiting when she got home. His shoes were by the door, vest and headband discarded on her couch. He was standing in front of an open window looking out. She hadn't expected to see him again so soon. 

Sakura's breath caught in her throat when he turned and walked towards her slowly.

His mask was pooled at his neck, revealing a firm, resigned set to his lips.

"What are you doing here?" She asked softly when he was a few feet away, her voice low and husky.

He smiled but it didn't reach his mismatched eyes as he pulled her against him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her lips.

Her hands were already on his neck and in his hair, pulling him closer. His lips were on hers then, tongue pushing insistently into her mouth. They stumbled into her bedroom without breaking contact. It was nowhere near as wild as before, but it was no less desperate.

"Last time, I promise." He murmured into Sakura's neck as she wrapped a long, bare leg around his waist. Her nails were in his back and his name on her lips.

She woke up alone.

* * *


	2. Too much poison come undone

A/N: This one turned out a bit angsty, sorry. Dunno what happened here. Next will be different.

* * *

The baby had gurgled in pleasure at the attention he was getting. He was stretching out his pudgy little hands, trying to grab a hold of Sakura's fingers as she scanned him for infection. The palest blue eyes she had ever seen stared back at her curiously as she finished and affectionately mussed the shock of blond hair sprouting awkwardly from the top of his head. Hinata hovered expectantly a few feet away. 

"He's perfectly fine. Kids get warm all the time." She reassured Hinata, who sighed a breath of relief. The baby giggled.

"I told you." Naruto chimed in from the adjoining room, already halfway into his breakfast.

"Thank you for coming by anyway. I wanted to be sure." Hinata's large white eyes were wide, oozing appreciation.

Sakura smiled at the girl. "It's no problem. I'm always here if you need anything."

"Muffins?" A disconnected voice called from the other room.

Hinata smiled and explained, a little embarrassed, as she picked up the child to take him back to his bed. "I made the ones with the blueberries for you."

Sakura wandered through their enourmous living room into the kitchen, plopping down at a large oak table. She snatched the already-bitten muffin Naruto was bringing to his mouth and took a large bite.

Naruto shrugged and poured her a cup of tea from a kettle on the table.

"I've been thinking about what we were talking about yesterday." He said casually.

Sakura paused in her chewing for a second, looking at him warily.

"You shouldn't do too much of that, Naruto." She cautioned, swallowing the food in her mouth a little uneasily.

Really, it was too early in the morning for this conversation.

"I think I'm gonna talk to him." He said, taking a sip from his cup.

"As long as I don't hear about any more on this, I really don't care." Sakura said coldly, in a voice she rarely used with him anymore.

"I just want you both to be happy." Naruto looked up at her with pleading eyes, his tone taking on a passionate note.

"We are. Let it go." She told him with finality, knowing he probably wouldn't listen though.

Really, she loved Naruto. He was her closest comrade, her best friend, her brother. She just wished he didn't try to be her doctor as well.

Once, Sakura had decided that Sasuke was like an ugly scar on her heart, thinking the metaphor very apt. Long ago he had been a huge, gaping, bleeding hole. But once Sakura had stopped picking at the scabs, stopped the morbid curiosity that drew her to what used to be there underneath, the wound had healed. It left an unseemly but painlessly numb mark, one that would fade with enough time.

It was Naruto that was convinced there was dirt in the wound and kept trying to tear it open in a misguided attempt to heal her.

She wished she could explain it to him, she did, but Sakura didn't think he would understand.

When they were all children, she had been attracted to Sasuke because of that certain heat that only he had seemed to possess. Sure, he had a shell of frigid, sharp ice that stung bitterly to the touch, but you wanted what was inside. Inside he had pockets of extreme heat and intensity that all girls were unconsciously drawn to, like moths to flame.

When they were young Sakura thought she could crack him open, but all she had ever gotten for her efforts was cold.

But now, it was as if Sasuke had melted. He wasn't cold, he wasn't hot. He was tepid. Naruto still didn't understand why it hadn't worked out between her them, and Sakura was tired of explaining.

"Really, don't worry about us so much." Sakura told him as she grabbed a few muffins, rolled them in a napkin and stuffed them in her bag. "And tell Hinata I said thanks."

"We'll see." Was his noncommital response, but Sakura could already see a spark in his clear, blue eyes. She wished she could have the regular Naruto back, the one that was loud and warm and always smiling.

Sakura left the Hyuuga complex, munching on another muffin she had snagged before leaving. Really, Hinata spoiled her.

As she rounded a corner on her way to the hospital she almost ran into a large male chest. She caught herself at the last moment, hands going up to stop herself from smacking into the solid wall automatically. The muffin was a casualty.

"Oh! I'm sorry..." She started to apologize, but her voice trailed off when she looked up to the pure black eyes of one Uchiha Sasuke. Her stomach tightened.

His hands had gone up to catch her, and they were still there as he stood looking down at her inquisitively. Sakura's were on his chest, their bodies not quite touching but close enough to transfer body heat. She stepped out of the half embrace quickly and his arms dropped from her to cross over his chest.

"Sasuke, good morning." She said politely, smiling a friendly, perfunctory smile.

Something close to a smile turned the corners of his own lips, but Sakura didn't ascribe much meaning to it.

"Sakura." He acknowledged, voice bland. His eyes darted to right below the side of her neck, fixing on the area right above the edge of her turtleneck.

"You can get rid of those with jutsu, can't you?" Sasuke asked pleasantly.

"I can, yes." She answered, struggling to keep her voice light and as nonchalant as his.

It took all of Sakura's will power not to raise her hand to hide the incriminating marks. Inside she bristled, annoyed both at herself for not getting rid of the tell-tale discolorations on her skin and at Sasuke for noticing them. She had left them there in a pique of perverse pride that morning, choosing instead to don a high collared shirt. She regretted that now.

Sasuke's smile turned knowing, yet somehow empty of emotion. Sakura didn't return it.

"I'll see you around." She said as she stepped around him.

As she walked away, Sakura imagined that she could feel his eyes on her back, but she didn't know if he was really watching her or not. Her fingers itched, but she refused to react like a child being caught misbehaving.

In another few seconds she had rounded another corner, quickly slapping her hand to her neck now that she was out of his sight. It glowed blue for a few seconds, healing, concealing.

She didn't really want anyone to see them, after all.

* * *

Sakura had known that the boy Naruto had dragged back to Konoha wasn't the same Sasuke her young heart had fallen for. _But if she squeezed her eyes tight enough and tried hard enough to remember how things were _before_, she was able to see what she wanted to._ And things were good then, for a while. 

After the dealings with ANBU and the treason charges and the loyalty issue had been resolved, Naruto and Sakura had tried desperately to recreate what Team 7 had shared. And it had worked. They were training together, eating together, everything. Even Kakashi would stop by, _for old time's sake_, he said.

Then one day Sakura had finally gathered enough courage and dared to suggest they get dinner, just the two of them, and Sasuke had shrugged and said, "sure".

Sakura had felt like it was Christmas and Valentine's and her birthday all at once. She had floated on air for days, stumbling around in a daze of rose-tinted happiness. She was almost 18 when they had started "dating" and she thought it had been the greatest present ever.

As she had opened her eyes to Sasuke, the real Sasuke, not the image she had had imprinted on her eyelids for all those years, Sakura thought she finally knew what it was really like to be in love. All that time had been worth it. All the pain, all the heartache, all vindicated. Everything had been justified. They would be happy now.

Sasuke had smiled and let her hold his hand, paid for dinner and let her kiss him on the cheek.

Ino sincerely wished her luck. Naruto beamed at them with happiness. He smiled at Sakura like a co-conspirator when it was all three of them at dinner and she sat close enough to Sasuke to touch him.

Sasuke didn't seem to mind either of them.

He was no longer the lonely iceberg from their childhood.

And he never pushed her, never pressured her for anything. She had thought him thoughtful, letting her go at her own pace when it came to intimacy between them. He kissed her back when she kissed him, touched her as she touched him. He never asked for anything she wasn't offering. Sakura knew it was love then.

_What happens when you squeeze your eyes shut hard for a long time and then open them up again, the light blinds you. All you see is stars. But as you blink away the haze, your vision clears._

They were on her couch one night, lights dimmed down low. The television was on mute, long forgotten. She was curled into his side, her body plastered to his, hands moving restless in his hair. She was kissing him for all she was worth.

He sat with his arms around her, head tilted to the side, eyes closed. His tongue caressed hers gently, firmly. Lips moved in sync with hers. She wasn't sure why, but things just felt desperate that night, urgent.

_This is it. Tonight,_ a voice had been repeating in her head for most of the day. She was wearing her fanciest underwear, her most expensive perfume.

Sakura had pressed into him brazenly in silent permission and invitation, her hands roaming over his perfect body. His caressed back and shoulders lightly in pale imitation. She was desperate, driven, her body burning, but despite his body's physical arousal, he was starkly calm in the face of her passion.

She didn't notice it at first, putting it down to him being kind and tender. It was her own hands that lifted her shirt over her head, that brought his hands to her chest as she straddled him. He was just nervous, she rationalized.

But something wasn't right, and the warmth that had curled in the pit of her stomach was slowly being displaced by something much less pleasant. Gradually she stilled, slowly letting go of his hands. She took a deep breath before shifting off of him, breaking contact and drawing away.

"I'm sorry... Sasuke, I... I don't think I... can... tonight." She whispered between shaky breaths, mouth suddenly very dry.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find when she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, but she was expecting _something._ She had been painfully disappointed.

"Okay. Good night, Sakura." He said, voice steady and smooth. He kissed her on the cheek, adjusted his own clothing as he stood up, and left. The click of the lock was deafening in the suddenly oppressive silence of her apartment.

She was still awake, shivering under the heavy covers of her bed as the sun came up.

_Where did I go wrong?_ Echoed in her head.

It took her a few days to really piece it all together.

The next day at lunch, Sasuke smiled at her in greeting when she joined him at their table. Sakura had smiled back, telling herself it was all alright now, and she had just overreacted.

But it made her just a little more cautious around him, hesitating to touch him lest she push too hard. It was then she started to notice that he didn't compensate for her retreat.

If they walked next to each other, he didn't take her hand. If they were at dinner, his leg didn't find hers under the table. And it hurt, so much. She was afraid the cold, distant Sasuke had somehow come back from the dead, and the idea scared her.

She tested him one day. He had met her after her shift one day, walking with her to meet Naruto and Hinata for dinner. Their hands brushed accidently, and she took the chance to lace her fingers with his. His had gripped back, and he didn't pull it away. He didn't say anything when she rested her hand on his thigh at dinner. He kissed her back when she kissed him goodnight.

Understanding dawned slowly, bringing with it crippling defeat . This wasn't cold, distant Sasuke. This was indifferent Sasuke. It wasn't that he didn't want her. He just... didn't care much either way.

And suddenly her victory was hollow, her prize empty.

She tried to tell herself that this was at least something that love grow out of, but the thought left her bitter. She could ignore him for weeks at great emotional cost to herself, but he never came around.

Naruto didn't understand her red, swollen eyes or defeated voice.

And one night, after a particularly painful double date, Sakura excused herself early. She kissed Sasuke softly on the cheek and fled into the safety of the night. It was the motions she still put herself through, the pretend normalcy, that stung more than anything.

The night had been cool and she had been under-dressed. Her arms wrapped around herself tightly, she had wandered the streets a bit, not ready to go home to her empty apartment. She hadn't expected to run into Kakashi that night, but she did.

They were a few blocks away from her apartment, just around the corner from the bar, her unknowingly walking towards it, him away. The street was silent, deserted at that late hour.

Kakashi had paused when he saw her, taking in her wet, unseeing eyes and broken posture. She had kept walking, almost passing him by, but he reached out and stopped her gently by a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" He said softly, and Sakura couldn't help but feel some of her bitterness rise. She chocked back a sob, shaking her head and looked away.

_For old time's sake_, he had told them. He had been checking up on Sasuke. He must have known Sasuke had changed.

Impotent, turbulent emotions she had been swallowing for weeks suddenly surfaced, looking for an outlet.

Sakura had grabbed him then, hands fisting in his vest as she pulled him roughly against her. His eye widened in shock, but she didn't pay much attention after she yanked his mask down and pressed her lips harshly against his.

Kakashi pulled away instantly, hands gripping her shoulders firmly, mask bunched at his chin.

"What the hell happened?" He asked again, his alarm superceding his shock.

Sakura bit her lip, forcing her eyes to meet his lone. Tears where flowing freely down her cheeks now, spikey eyelashes framed huge, glistening pools of hurt. It made her look that much younger, smaller. That much more vulnerable.

She reached for him again, pulling his head down to hers hesitantly. He didn't stop her this time, giving in to her silent request for comfort. He wrapped his arms around her slender form and held her against him. That had been all the encouragement she had needed.

He tried to keep the kiss gentle and chaste, but she didn't want that. The hands at his neck pulled him tightly, keeping his head in place as she tried to crawl her way into his mouth. Her tongue moved hungrily, boldly against his, teeth pulling at his lip. Sakura's lithe body rubbed against his chest and stomach, hips pressed into his groin.

Kakashi jerked away suddenly, as if he had been scalded, but her hands didn't let him get far, gripping his vest like a life-line. He needed to put a stop to this before it went any further, right there in the middle of the street.

"Sakura, stop." He commanded gruffly, but her mouth was back on his, hot, hungry, insistent. But above all, desperate.

"Please..." She pleaded breathlessly, hands clawing frantically at his hair, neck, back.

He knew what she was asking for and why, and he understood. He followed her to her apartment wordlessly, his hand clasped tightly by hers.

* * *

Tell me what you think. 


End file.
